When you work in marketing, business development or public relations, chances are you will come in contact with the “reply-all conundrum.”
Hopefully its as an observer and not as a participant but in the off-chance you make the mistake of parlaying information to parties not involved, I have to say you deserve what’s coming to you.
I’m so glad that President Chris Abraham passed along one of The Bloggess’ latest posts detailing one such catastrophe. Luckily it had as happy of an ending as it could have, and it just goes to show the support that you can rally in the World Wide Web.
In a nutshell, the lovely Jenny Lawson opened a poorly written pitch. It happens more frequently than it should and Jenny wasn’t having it. Well…a witty reply was not received fondly by the PR company responsible for the pitch and sparks flew. A n00b at Brandlink Communications decided to refer to Ms. Lawson as “f***ing b***h” in a reply-all clearly not meant for her eyes. You would think that when called out on this action, “Jose” would grovel at her feet but instead Brand Link continued to demonstrate behavior not fitting for the Public Relations industry.
In order for PR pros to be taken seriously by the business world, we need to embody the reputation we wish to be known by. Lesson one, learn your reply-all rules. Not too difficult. Check who’s on the receiving end of an email chain and maybe just try and stay away from expletives in content in general. Lesson two, invest in a thick skin and a sense of humor. You’ll have to check out The Bloggess’ post for an excellent response to a poor pitch. Brand Link should have realized its pitch was mis-tailored and targeted and accepted Ms. Lawson’s pithy reply. Lesson three, tailor and target your pitches properly. At Abraham Harrison we employ a team of talented individuals whose sole responsibility is researching bloggers that will actually be interested in what we’re pitching and preaching. It’s how we maintain our credibility. We also have created a extensive protocol on thick skins and senses of humor, so if you’re lacking in any of these departments, do feel free to let me know.
And Ms. Lawson, my hats off to you. I thought your email was funny.
Related articles
- PR Exec Curses Out Mom Blogger, Gets Annihilated On Twitter And The Blogosphere (businessinsider.com)
- Oops. PR Exec Calls Blogger a ‘F*cking Bitch’ in an Email (adweek.com)
- Brandlink Communications, TheBloggess, PR Fails, and Fallout (smackdown.blogsblogsblogs.com)
- BrandLink Communications Has the Internet Drop on its Head (whatever.scalzi.com)
- Trouble Ensues When Brandlink Staffer Hits ‘Reply All’ (mediabistro.com)
- The Bloggess vs. Brand Link Communications: The Real Problem with the Email (Amy Lupold Blair) (kathleensblogspot.com)
- Please stand by for a demonstration of relevancy (or: how to utterly fail at Public Relations) (wilwheaton.typepad.com)
- I would have appreciated an apology (socialmedia.biz)
- And then the PR guy called me “a fucking bitch”. I can’t even make this shit up. (thebloggess.com)
- How to Teach Your Child About Religion (patheos.com)
- The Bloggess vs. Brand Link Communications: The Real Problem with the Email (Amy Lupold Blair) (kathleensblogspot.com)
- Please stand by for a demonstration of relevancy (or: how to utterly fail at Public Relations) (wilwheaton.typepad.com)
- I would have appreciated an apology (socialmedia.biz)
- And then the PR guy called me “a fucking bitch”. I can’t even make this shit up. (thebloggess.com)
- How to Teach Your Child About Religion (patheos.com)
